Feature

Putting things into perspective: ‘Save now, come home later when jobs are available.’

MANILA: To get a picture of how VAT and TRAIN affect Filipinos working abroad and in the Philippines for comparisons, The Filipino Times interviewed two Filipino senior auditors; one, based in Abu Dhabi while the other is in Manila.

Carmina
A month after VAT implementation, there was a minimal 0.03% increase in Carmina’s expenses; her savings, correspondingly decreased by 0.017%.

Carmina, 25, said the growth in her expenses, albeit slight, made her re-think of her expenditures and become more practical in her spending, like shopping for cheaper variants in grocery or choosing the less expensive meal in a restaurant.

In just a year of working in Abu Dhabi, Carmina has already invested some of her hard-earned money in a life insurance and in a small computer shop managed by her brother in November 2017 with a starting capital of P200,000.

Francis Errol Medina finance manager at Hilti Middle East
Francis Errol Medina, finance manager at Hilti Middle East

Errol
But while Carmina is keeping her expenses under the microscope and wanting to stay on in the UAE to grow her wealth, Errol, 25, who works at an auditing firm in Manila and making far less than Carmina, wants to stay in the Philippines and be with his loved ones.

Errol’s salary is non-taxable; thus, his net pay remains untouched at P32,000 a month, which was supposedly entitled to a 20% tax deduction rate with the TRAIN law.

Despite this, he said, his current net pay could no longer suffice to provide for all his needs especially now with the existing TRAIN law. He may not be taxed, but the increasing prices of commodities has made him resort to other sources of income like doing some field work for his clients.

Asked if he’s seeing working overseas as an option, Errol said, “It crosses my mind once in a while since my friends in the UAE earn more than thrice what we earn here in the Philippines.

“Pero, mas pipiliin ko pa rin manirahan dito kaysa mag-earn ka nga ng maximum pero hindi mo naman makukuha ‘yung comfort dito sa bansa.”

For OFWs planning to return in the country for good, he said it’s better to come home when the infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program of the administration are established because it is only then when plenty of jobs would be available.

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When is the best time to go home ?

Francis Errol Medina, finance manager at Hilti Middle East in Dubai, told The Filipino Times the best time for OFWs to return home is when they have already obtained their target goals or have saved up money that would suffice to their expenses.

“We can go home naman regardless of the VAT and TRAIN Laws especially if we believe that we have achieved our main goal and we can sustain our entire expenses and retirement. The tax here ay maliit lang naman but still, it will hurt your savings kaya nga we have to discipline ourselves kasi ang mga Pinoy ay impulsive,” Medina said.

“Better save now and maximize your full capacity to save and invest para makauwi nang mas maaga lalo na’t tumataas ang presyo ng commodities dito sa UAE at sa Pilinas.”

He mentioned that the take-home pay of the lower income earner in the Philippines is not as tangible as it seems because of the excise tax; thus, he advised Filipinos working abroad to take it as an opportunity to look into their buying behavior and maximize their saving potential if they don’t want to work in offices when they return.

“Kaming mga OFWs, karamihan ay hindi naman babalik sa pagiging empleyado pag umuwi kami. Lumaki nga ang take-home pay pero ang taas naman ng bilihin. Hindi rin natin mararamdaman. Kaya as much as possible, dapat magkaroon na tayo ng business sa Pilipinas bago umuwi.”

Staff Report

The Filipino Times is the chronicler of stories for, of and by Filipinos all over the world, reaching more than 236 countries in readership. Any interesting story to share? Email us at [email protected]

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